Small cell backhaul

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for providing small cell backhaul are disclosed. A network node that acts as a gateway for a local communication network to a main communication network through a bonded link with the main communication network also provides a wireless communication module with a backhaul communication link to the main communication network through its bonded link. A switch module in the network node switches communication traffic between the local communication network, the wireless communication module and the bonded link to the main communication network. The network node may power the wireless communication module utilizing remote power provided by the main communication network, the local communication network, and/or a local source of power. Apparatus and methods for providing a transparent bonded link through a network access multiplexer are also disclosed, including management of the bonded link and of nodes subtending from the bonded link.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to communications and, in particular,to backhaul communications for wireless access points.

BACKGROUND

Next Generation wireless networks (4G/LTE/LTE-Advanced) are being basedon the premise of 100 Mb/s data transmission to the handset. Imaginebeing able to live stream 1080P HD video to your device anytime,anywhere, even as you are travelling by car (though not while in thedriver's seat), bus, etc. Sounds like a great idea and many consumersdon't understand why this isn't universally available right now at areasonable price.

The wireless industry has worked persistently on getting the 3Gstandards, equipment & networks deployed and functioning, but highbandwidth applications like streaming HD video are generally beyond whatthose standards, equipment and networks were originally designed tohandle.

While deploying faster 4G radios in the existing 3G network may providesome performance improvements, this may only provide a limited benefit.3G networks are based on fairly large antenna base stations (BTSs). Inmuch of the world, BTS sites have been upgraded with fibre optic networkconnections to be able to handle the more than 10× bandwidth/handsetthat 4G networks demand.

Unfortunately, that is not the whole story. If you take a 3G BTS site,it could handle a maximum bandwidth (limited by the combination of thespeed and spectrum of the radios and the speed of the backhaulconnection to the network) of perhaps 100 Mb/s with a fibre networkconnection and cover an area of perhaps 15-30 square kilometers.

This means that all the wireless devices within the 15-30 squarekilometers can share that 100 Mb/s. In a downtown city core thatcapacity is exhausted very quickly and everyone gets very littlebandwidth. If one of those people is using a device that needs all ofthat 100 Mb/s bandwidth, then it is not available to anyone else. Youcan see that the current 3G network architecture will simply not workfor high bandwidth applications on any commercial scale. To achieve 4Gspeeds would generally require between 4-10× the number of 3G BTS sites.Given that each of those sites costs anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000,depending on the distance that the fibre has to be laid to reach it, youcan see that this architecture is now non-economic.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatuscomprising: a local communication network interface to be operativelycoupled to a local communication network; a switching module operativelycoupled to the local communication network interface; a bondinginterface, operatively coupled to the switching module, that enablescommunication over a bonded link; and a wireless communication moduleinterface, operatively coupled to the switching module, the switchingmodule being operable to receive communication traffic via the bondinginterface, to determine whether the received communication traffic is tobe forwarded to one or more of the local communication network interfaceand the wireless communication module interface, and to forward thereceived communication traffic in accordance with the determination.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a networknode comprising the apparatus described above.

According to yet another aspect, the present invention provides a methodcomprising: receiving communication traffic over a bonded link;determining whether the received communication traffic is to beforwarded to one or more of a local communication network and a wirelesscommunication network; and forwarding the received communication trafficin accordance with the determination.

According to still another aspect, the present invention provides anapparatus comprising: a network interface to be operatively coupled to amain communication network; an access multiplexer to be operativelycoupled to a network node; and an exchange gateway module, operativelycoupled to the network interface and to the access multiplexer, andoperable to receive communication traffic from the main communicationnetwork through the network interface, process the receivedcommunication traffic and forward the processed received communicationtraffic to the access multiplexer,

wherein, for received communication traffic destined for the networknode, the exchange gateway module is operable to process the receivedcommunication traffic destined for the network node so that theprocessed received network traffic destined for the network node isforwarded by the access multiplexer to the network node through a bondedlink that is transparent to the access multiplexer. The bonded link is“transparent” to the access multiplexer in the sense that the accessmultiplexer is unaware of, and has no impact in the bonding ofconstituent links into a single bonded link. From the accessmultiplexer's perspective the constituent links are all independentpoint-to-point links on which it puts the requisite traffic. In someembodiments, the bonding is implemented at layer 2-3 in the maincommunication network, and therefore is ‘transparent’ to an accessmultiplexer operating at layer 1-1.5 of the main communication network.In some embodiments, the constituent links are xDSL pairs and the accessmultiplexer is a DSLAM.

According to a further aspect, the present invention provides a methodcomprising: receiving communication traffic destined for a network nodefrom a main communication network; processing the received communicationtraffic destined for the network node to add a header to each packet ofdata in the received communication traffic destined for the networknode; and forwarding each packet of data in the processed receivedcommunication traffic through a bonded link to the network node inaccordance with its added header.

According to yet a further aspect, the present invention provides acommunication system comprising: a main communication network; aplurality of network nodes, each network node of the plurality ofnetwork nodes being operatively coupled to the main communicationnetwork through a respective bonded link; a plurality of localcommunication networks, each of the local communication networksoperatively coupled to a respective one of the network nodes, andcomprising at least one subscriber communication node for providing acommunication service to subscriber premises; and each network node ofthe plurality of network nodes comprising: a wireless communicationmodule operable to establish one or more wireless communication linksfor wireless communication with one or more wireless communicationdevices in a respective coverage area; and a switching module thatreceives communication traffic from the main communication network viaits respective bonded link, determines whether the receivedcommunication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of its localcommunication network and its wireless communication module, andforwards the received communication traffic in accordance with thedetermination.

According to still a further aspect, the present invention provides acomputer-readable medium storing instructions which when executedperform one of the methods described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments of the invention will now be described ingreater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a common star topology for an accessnetwork connecting households and a Central Office (CO) exchange.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an example deployment of a small cell inthe star network topology shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of another example deployment of a small cellin conjunction with a local ring network topology connecting copperpairs between households and a network node with a bonded link betweenthe network node and a CO exchange.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another more detailed example deployment ofa small cell in conjunction with a local ring network topology.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example network node.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example switching module that might beincluded in a network node, such as the example network node shown inFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example powering arrangement that mightbe included in a network node, such as the network node shown in FIG. 3,to provide remote powering from a main network.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example HCC (Home CommunicationsCentre).

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another example deployment of a small cellin conjunction with a network node coupled to a local communicationnetwork.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The rapidly accelerating consumption of mobile data is being driven byconsumer adoption of smart phones, wearable devices and mobile-connectedtablets, in parallel with 3G and 4G deployments. Cisco's VNI Mobile Dataresearch found that that global mobile data will increase nearly 11-foldbetween 2013 and 2018, with traffic growing at a compound annual growthrate (CAGR) of 61 percent from 2013 to 2018, reaching 15.9 Exabytes permonth by 2018. Whilst operators are keen to realize content and deliveryrevenues associated with mobile data growth, they recognize thechallenge of developing networks that can accommodate future consumerdemands.

The wireless industry has made a lot of progress since the original 3Gstandards were developed and 4G standards have been written and passedby international technical experts. The approach is to produce smallerBTS sites that are less expensive to deploy, are physically small with asmaller footprint, and have much lower transmit power, so that theycover a much smaller area. There would also need to be lots of them,perhaps up to fifty times more small sites than there are current BTSsites. These sites go by the names of microcells, femtocells, picocellsor just small cells for short. The idea is that these small cells can beput almost everywhere to offload the BTS sites (called macrocells). Inthe future it is likely that the wireless networks that we use will bealmost entirely based on small cells with the macrocells (BTSs) beingused to ‘fill the gaps’ either between the small cells or in suburbanand rural areas where the population density is lower. These small cellswould be designed to handle perhaps 20-50 simultaneous users with abackhaul connection speed of 10-100 Mb/s.

The following are some examples of issues that may be considered whenthinking about deploying small cells.

-   -   Physically small: in many cases, it may be desirable to make the        small cell nodes physically small so that they are inconspicuous        and can be placed on storefronts, lampposts and road signage,        etc.    -   Low cost: The sheer number of them that may be deployed is much        larger than the number of macrocells (BTSs) deployed for 3G        networks.    -   Low transmit radio power: Having a large number of high power        transmitters in any given area may cause large amounts of        interference with each other. Lowering the power means that the        mutual interference may be reduced and easier for mathematical        interference cancellation techniques to handle within the        capabilities of the low cost radios that may be used.    -   Backhaul bandwidth: As all communication with handheld devices        is via the network, which provides the foundation of the        Internet, typically the higher the bandwidth available to the        small cell, the more simultaneous devices that can be supported        by that small cell, and the fewer the number of devices that        have to be handled by the macrocell network.    -   Availability of small cell power: The small cells need        electrical power to be able to transmit their radio signals and        to connect to the rest of the wired network.

There are many wireless backhaul-based solutions that need little morethan a power source—in theory. They involve getting the traffic (voice,video & data) from one set of frequencies and putting them on another,generally unlicensed and less costly part of the spectrum. As the numberof small cells increases, this creates more problems than it solves asyou are just moving things around within a finite number of radiocarriers whose regulations may change from country to country.

A number of powering options may be considered. Generally the interfaceat the base of the antenna of a radio is Ethernet which then feeds intoa wired communications medium that takes in Ethernet packets and mapsthem into whatever protocol is used on that medium (e.g.: fibre may useSONET/SDH, xPON, Gigabit Ethernet, etc. and copper-based connections maybe T1/E1, DOCSIS cable or xDSL-based). There is generally a lot ofprocessing that takes place in BTS sites to cancel and/or compensate forinterference, correct errors, manage the site, etc.

Many companies are concentrating on separating that processing from thephysical antenna by putting fibre up the mast to the actual MiMo grid(fronthaul) and combining that processing power in a single site.However this needs fibre to be deployed to smaller, more power efficientsites which is often economically questionable due to the number ofsites that will need fibre connectivity.

Optical fibre-based systems can carry a large amount of data, but arenot physically deployed in the vast majority of locations that mightneed small cells. This means tunneling under roads, through gardens,etc. and that may involve legal intervention (to get the rights of wayto do this), backhoes, cable pullers, etc. and a lot of time to getthings in order.

For the above reasons, some major telecom carriers have said that theywill not deploy optical fibre to support small cells as there is simplytoo much fibre that would be required and it would be uneconomic persmall cell. In many cases, each small cell has to make a profit on itsown for the operator to want to put it there and power it.

As there are fewer people using each small cell, the installation has tobe economical, the equipment low-cost, and the access to the electricalpower has to be affordable.

An example of how small cells may be deployed in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention will now be discussed with referenceto FIGS. 1A to 1C.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a common star topology for an accessnetwork connecting households 18, 20, 22, and 24 and a Central Office(CO) exchange 100. In the star topology access network shown in FIG. 1A,houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 receiving services, such as Plain OldTelephone Service (POTS) and high speed internet access, such as DSLservice, are connected to a telephone pole 16 via electricallyconductive twisted wire pairs shown at 19, 21, 23, and 25 for houses 18,20, 22, and 24, respectively. The telephone pole 16 in turn is connectedto the CO exchange 100 via a twisted wire pair bundle 10 that includes aplurality of twisted wire pairs 12 that are utilized to provide serviceto the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24, as well as a plurality of sparetwisted wire pairs 14 that are not being utilized to provide service tothe houses. In many cases, telephone companies have deployed more thanone twisted wire pair phone line per household, even if the householdonly utilizes one phone line. In FIG. 1A, such spare twisted wire pairsare shown at 27, 29, 31, and 33 for houses 18, 20, 22, and 24,respectively. These spare twisted wire pairs between the telephone pole16 and the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 at least partially account for theplurality of spare twisted wire pairs 14 between the telephone pole 16and the CO exchange 100.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an example deployment of a small cell inthe star network topology shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1B, a small cellnode 13 and a network node 11 are deployed at the telephone pole 16,with the small cell node 13 being operatively coupled to the networknode 11, which in turn is coupled between the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24and the CO exchange 100 via the existing twisted wire pair bundle 10between the CO exchange 100 and the telephone pole 16 and the twistedwire pairs 19, 21, 23, and 25 between the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 andthe telephone pole 16.

In operation, the small cell node 13 provides wireless access to mobiledevices 117 and 119, or any other device capable of wirelesscommunication, within a coverage area. In the example deployment shownin FIG. 1B, the network node 11 provides a backhaul connection for thesmall cell node 13 through a bonded link 15 formed by bonding (takingmultiple wire pairs and combining their bandwidth so that a single largebandwidth pipe can be realized) the spare twisted wire pairs 14 shown inFIG. 1A.

By using the same technology that provides household Internet accessover telephone wires (Digital Subscriber Line or DSL—the latest versionis VDSL2 which is capable of delivering up to 100 Mb/s over a singlecopper wire pair over short distances) and using the previouslymentioned bonding approach, some embodiments of the present inventionmake it possible to provide significant amounts of backhaul bandwidth,and potentially electrical power, to small cells.

Copper is already deployed in telecom networks and has been for manyyears. Today there is often spare capacity (basically spare copper pairsthat are part of a cable bundle deployed to serve a group of subscriberssuch as a small number of houses, apartments, or shops) but generallynot enough to maximize telco revenue on their own (e.g. spare twistedwire pairs 14, 27, 29, 31, and 33 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B). Deployingmore copper cabling would cost almost as much as laying opticalfibre—which telcos have indicated is uneconomical. Some embodiments ofthe present invention involve ‘sharing’ the cabling that currentlyserves the people it was originally deployed for.

Copper is a good electrical conductor so could be used as a part of apowering strategy as well. So-called ‘line powering’ has been aroundsince the invention of the telephone and could be used to power smallcells as well as multiplexing equipment—within reason.

In the example deployment shown in FIG. 1B, the backhaul traffic for thesmall cell node 13 and traffic associated with services provided to thelocal network of houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 is physically separated onthe plurality of twisted wire pairs providing the bonded link 15 and theplurality of twisted wire pairs 12, respectively.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of another example deployment of a small cellin conjunction with a local ring network topology where backhaul trafficfor the small cell node 13 and traffic associated with services providedto the local network of houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 are both transmittedover a bonded link 17 between the network node 11 and a CO exchange 100.

In contrast to the deployment shown in FIG. 1B, in the exampledeployment shown in FIG. 1C the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 have beeninterconnected with each other and the network node 11 in a ringtopology to form a local ring network 26. Also, all of the twisted wirepairs of the twisted wire pair bundle 10 between the network node 11 andthe CO exchange 100, including the twisted wire pairs 12 that werepreviously used to provide services to the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 andthe previously spare twisted wire pairs 14, have been bonded to providethe bonded link 17 between the network node 11 and the CO exchange 100.

By creating a “larger” (more twisted wire pairs) bonded link between thenetwork node and the CO Exchange, the bandwidth capacity of the link canbe increased. This bandwidth can then be shared between householdsubscribers on the local ring network and wireless devices receivingwireless access via the small cell node 13.

Further detailed example implementations of a network node, such as thenetwork node 11, and equipment that may be installed at the CO exchange100 and the households 18, 20, 22, and 24 will be discussed later withreference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

From the above, it can be seen that these example deployments of smallcells involve deployment close to households. Mobile phone use withinthe home is increasing rapidly, which means that such deployments locatethe small cell close to where many consumers use their mobile phones.While there may be insufficient spare capacity in the deployed copperinfrastructure to achieve maximum revenue from small cells, someembodiments of the present invention combine the bandwidth carryingcapacity of the people currently being served by that infrastructure(e.g. household telephone/DSL subscribers), via the previously mentionedbonding approach, to provide a backhaul connection, and in some casesremote powering, for small cell deployment.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that some embodiments of thepresent invention provide a feasible way to deploy a small cell near thehomes of subscribers, which can be advantageous, as this increasingly iswhere the bandwidth is needed. It is estimated that 80% of mobiletraffic is generated at the home, office or coffee shop.

In some embodiments, electrical power could be supplied to a small cellover the copper wiring from either the network, the households servedwith Internet access over that copper, or both. In some cases, a gooddelineation might be that the network provides sufficient power to keepthe small cell going at all times but the households provide theadditional power required for the wired Internet access.

In some embodiments, traffic bandwidth that is delivered to the smallcell is combined with the Internet access that existing subscribers arealready paying for. In some cases, the Internet access customers arealso provided with a boost in performance as well through a sharedbonded link with the main network.

In some embodiments, some level of Quality of Service (QoS) is providedto account for combining traffic that may have differing ‘priorities’(e.g.: voice calls are generally more important than web surfing andemails).

In some embodiments, interference cancellation on the copper (vectoring)could be considered as part of the package, but its benefits may be lostafter about 1 km from the DSLAM and may not be realized if a Local LoopUnbundling (LLU) situation exists in the network.

A small cell may have a more or less fixed amount of power that it willconsume to provide coverage over a given physical area. In someembodiments, the network node deployed with the small cell node includesmultiplexing equipment to terminate a number of DSL lines from thenetwork, drive those network lines with the data from the houses as wellas the small cell, and do all the processing of that data including, insome cases, applying a QoS scheme. Therefore, it may be desirable that anetwork node be very power efficient, yet capable of bonding many copperpairs into a single large data pipe and delivering high speed Internetaccess to the paying subscribers on the local communication network. Ifthere are at least two pairs going to each house from the pedestal ordistribution point (DP), such as the telephone pole 16 shown in FIGS. 1Ato 1C, one of the ways to minimize power for the ports serving the wiredcustomers is to utilize a ring architecture.

In some embodiments, essentially only two VDSL2 modems would face thecustomer premises of the local communication network at the pedestal/DP.A passive cross-connect could be used at the DP so that any householdthat turned their power off would be switched out of the ring. In a ringarchitecture, such as the local ring network used to interconnect thehouses 18, 20, 22, and 24 shown in FIG. 1C, there is always a path tothe network, even if one pair is cut to any of the houses in the ring—beit in one direction or the other. If the passive cross-connect isdesigned properly, those houses served by the ring can also providepower to the DP-based network node.

This is called back-powering. If it were not possible for whateverreason for enough electrical power to be provided to the network nodevia the network side of the copper at the DP, in many cases thecombination of back-powering and line-powering may be more thansufficient.

DSL Add Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) & Rings, such as disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/463,240, filed on Aug. 8, 2006, and inU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/706,022, filed on Aug.8, 2005, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein byreference, represent a new and powerful reconfiguration of existingtelecom network resources. Bonded DSL Rings that maintain their abilityto be a source of communications in difficult technical circumstances,such as when power to homes and/or offices in which they are deployedfails, may make the most of these reconfigured resources.

Embodiments of the present invention may be applied, for example, to DSLRings as disclosed in the above-referenced patent applications.Therefore, a brief description of bonded DSL Rings is provided below.

Those familiar with DSL communications will appreciate that in one knownnetwork topology for connecting copper pairs between households and a COexchange, many households or customer sites are interconnected with asingle CO exchange using twisted pair cables in a star network topology.The interconnection of the houses 18, 20, 22, and 24 and the CO exchange100 in FIGS. 1A and 1B is one example of a star network topology. Theinterconnections between customer premises and a CO exchange aregenerally referred to as the “last mile”.

The transmission bandwidth of technologies such as DSL and Ethernetdecreases with distance. In a star network architecture, the DSLAM (DSLAccess Multiplexer) may be physically located in the middle, but thedistance to each subscriber is often greater than the short distancerequired for maximum bandwidth. Since the telecom carriers wish toincrease bandwidth to their customers, they need to keep the twistedpair distances as short as possible.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an example of a DSL ring network that includesa small cell deployment provided by an embodiment of the invention willbe described. A network node 115 forming part of the DSL ring isdepicted in FIG. 2. The network node 115 may alternatively be referredto as a gateway node or a convergence node (CN). For illustrativepurposes, an example deployment of such a gateway node 115 (for exampleforming part of a pedestal or DP (Distribution Point)) showingconnections back to a central office 100 is depicted in FIG. 2, but itshould be understood that gateway node 115 is not limited to such adeployment and any suitable backhaul connection may be employed. Thegateway node 115 is shown connected via N Pairs 105 to a cabinet 106(often called a Primary Connection Point—PCP—or Jumper WiringInterface—JWI—or Service Access Interface—SAI—depending on theterminology of the network operator), which in turn is connected to a CO100 having a DSLAM 101 via 1000 pairs 102.

The gateway node 115 is connected to the CO 100 via the N Pairs 105 andN of the 1000 pairs 102 using a bonded connection 104, for example in amanner similar to that described in G.Bond (ITU 998.1/2/3); however,other bonding protocols may be used. For example, in some embodiments, anon-segmenting bonding protocol, such as mBond™ developed by GenesisTechnical Systems Corp., may be used. Various bonding protocols,including those mentioned above, and their potential advantages anddisadvantages are discussed in further detail below with reference toFIG. 7.

The number of pairs between the CO and a cabinet is arbitrary. It may,for example be on the order of several hundreds and may be >1000. Moregenerally still, where in the illustrated examples it is assumed thatthere is a bonded connection between the gateway and the upstreamnetwork element; any suitable shared connection can be used. Theconnection is shared in the sense that broadband packet traffic formultiple connected ADMs can be carried on the connection. The sharedconnection can include one or more of bonded copper, optical or wirelessto name a few examples. For the purpose of comparison, also shown is aconventional pedestal 110 connected to households 112, 114 in a startopology.

A pedestal typically includes a number of incoming pairs from a network,and a patch panel that allows the connection of any pair going to aspecific household to any of the incoming pairs. Thus for theconventional pedestal 110, the patch panel would allow households 112,114 to be arbitrarily connected to respective ones of the 50 pairsincoming to the pedestal 110.

A set of households 118, 120, 122 is connected in a ring configuration.The first household 118 is connected via 124 to the gateway node 115forming part of the pedestal or DP (Distribution Point) 114. Similarly,household 122 is connected via 130 to the gateway node 115. Theremaining households are connected in a ring similar to that of FIG. 1C.Thus, a connection 126 is shown between households 118 and 120, and aconnection 128 is shown between households 120 and 122. More generally,an arbitrary number of households would be included on the ring.

A wireless communication module 164, which may be a small cell node, isdeployed at the pedestal 114 and is operatively coupled to the gatewaynode 115. The wireless communication module 164 provides wireless accessto wireless communication devices 117, 119. While FIG. 2 shows twowireless communication devices, more generally any number of wirelesscommunication devices may be included.

A bonding protocol 104 is used to obtain bandwidth from the CO 100 tothe gateway node 115. Examples of bonding protocols that may be used insome embodiments include, but are not limited to, G.Bond and Ethernet inthe First Mile (EFM). The gateway node 115, which may be environmentallyhardened and powered via the twisted pairs from the CO 100, terminatesthe G.Bond 104 traffic and acts as a gateway for the DSL ring and thewireless communication module 164.

The gateway node 115 receives communication traffic over the bonded link104, determines whether the received communication traffic is to beforwarded to the DSL ring or to the wireless communication access pointestablished by the wireless communication module 164, and forwards thereceived communication traffic in accordance with the determination. Inthe reverse direction, the gateway node is operable to receivecommunication traffic from the wireless communication access point viathe wireless communication module 164, and forward the receivedcommunication traffic from the wireless communication access point tothe bonded link for transmission to the CO 100. This provides a backhaulcommunication link for the wireless communication module through thebonded link 104. Similarly, the gateway node 115 is operable to receivecommunication traffic from the DSL ring, and forward the receivedcommunication traffic from the DSL ring to the bonded link fortransmission to the CO 100.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 164 providessmall cell wireless access. In some embodiments, the wirelesscommunication module 164 provides both small cell wireless access andWiFi access. In some embodiments, the wireless communication moduleincludes multiple wireless communication modules. For example, in someembodiments, the wireless communication module 164 may include a smallcell wireless communication module that provides small cell wirelessaccess and a WiFi wireless communication module that provides WiFiaccess.

The gateway node 115 may implement a QoS mechanism when forwardingreceived communication traffic to/from the wireless communication module164 and/or the DSL ring. In some cases, received communication trafficto/from the wireless communication module may be forwarded with a higherQoS priority than received communication traffic to/from the DSL ring.

The gateway node 115 may implement a QoS mechanism by determining a QoSpriority of the received communication traffic and forwarding thereceived communication traffic in accordance with its determined QoSpriority. In some cases, the QoS mechanism is implemented using one ormore of: RPR (Resilient Packet Ring), Ethernet, and VDSL2 (Very high bitrate Digital Subscriber Line—Version 2).

The gateway node 115 may translate the received communication trafficbefore forwarding it. For example, received communication traffic fromthe bonded link 104 containing data destined for one or more of thewireless devices 117, 119 may be translated by the gateway node 115 to aformat that is compatible with the wireless communication module 164before being forwarded to the wireless communication module 164. Asimilar translation, but in reverse, may be done for communicationtraffic received from the wireless communication module 164 before beingforwarded to the bonded link 104. Corresponding translations may be donefor passing communication traffic between the bonded link 104 and theDSL ring.

In some embodiments, where a local power source is unavailable or forsome reason unfeasible, the gateway node 115 may be at least partiallypowered remotely from one of the components in the main communicationnetwork, to which it is coupled through the bonded link 104, and/or fromone or more of the communication nodes on the DSL ring. The gateway node115 may also or instead have one or more local power sources, such aspower mains, a solar or other power cell, and/or a battery. In somecases, the battery may be charged by the power mains or remotely from atleast one of the main communication network and the DSL ring. U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/977,381, filed on Oct. 4,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/243,061, filed on Oct. 1,2008, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein byreference, disclose methods and apparatus for the remote powering ofnodes, which may be used in some embodiments of the present invention.

For the pedestal 114 that is participating in the DSL ring, only pairs124 and 130 are connected to the gateway node 115. The remainingconnections are between adjacent households. This can be achieved bymaking connections on a patch panel that forms part of the pedestal 114.For example, the interconnection 126 between households 118 and 120 canbe achieved by connecting a jumper cable between a first pair going fromthe pedestal 114 to the first household 118, and a second pair going tothe second household 120. In this manner the configuration of the DSLring is very flexible and can easily be changed by simply modifying theset of patches which may be done via a passive cross-connect in the DP.

In the illustrated example, the bandwidth from the CO 100 to the gatewaynode 115 is provided through a bonding approach. In particular, a set ofpairs from the DSLAM 101 can be grouped as a logical pipe that provideshigher bandwidth than individual pairs. This logical pipe is then usedto transmit packets to and from the gateway node 115, any of thehouseholds on the DSL ring, and any of the wireless communicationdevices that are provided with wireless network access through thewireless communication module 164. For example, assuming individualpairs between the DSLAM 101 and the gateway node 115 support 4 Mb/seach, this being a function of the distance between the DSLAM 101 andthe gateway node 115, and 32 such pairs can be combined to produce 128Mb/s bandwidth, this bandwidth may be shared by the subscribers on theDSL ring and the wireless communication devices that are provided withwireless access through the wireless communication module 164. Regardingthe availability of double the maximum VDSL2 bandwidth, home routers maybe able to handle less than this amount, for example 100 Mb/s. Thiswould not pose a problem so long as there is not more than that amountof traffic to drop at a given household or the household had highcapacity equipment such as a GigE router. The maximum current VDSL2 ringbandwidth in a symmetrical implementation is just over 200 Mb/s.

While throughout this description copper pairs are referred to, moregenerally any electrically conducting twisted wire pairs and possiblyother types of connections can be employed. As detailed above, eachhousehold 118, 120, 122 has an add drop node (not shown in FIG. 2) thatprovides packet add/drop functionality. The location of such ADMs is notlimited to being in households. In a particular example, the add dropnode is an HCC (Home Communications Centre), which enables DSL ringtopologies in telecom service provider networks. An example HCC isdescribed in detail below with reference to FIG. 6. A ‘Ring’ is aspecial case of the more general ‘Daisy Chain of ADMs’ where the ‘Ring’goes out from, and returns to, the same gateway node, which may, butneed not necessarily be, a CO. Another example would be a set of ADMsbetween two different COs or even a serially-connected network ‘stub’sometimes referred to as a linear ADM (i.e., a set of ADMs thatinitiates from a particular gateway node, but terminates at anothergateway node).

By physically, electrically, and/or logically connecting the twistedpair cables of customers on the DSL ring so that the electrical distanceis less than the maximum bandwidth distance of the layer 1 technology,service can be provided to subscribers at much greater distances fromthe DSLAM with very little investment in additional “last mile” cabling.Twisted pair rings greatly increase the distance and bandwidth carryingcapability of the ‘local ring’. High bandwidth is made available to thehouseholds on the ring by reducing the transmission distance to thatbetween households instead of between households and gateway nodes orCentral Offices. Maximum bandwidth on the ring is obtained if thedistance between houses connected together is less than the maximumbandwidth distance. The high bandwidth that is provided to the ringthrough the bonded link to the DSLAM 101 in the CO 100 can then be usedin a shared manner with the subscribers on the ring to provide abackhaul connection for the wireless communication module 164.

In some embodiments, existing “last mile” cables are utilized by thering network. Existing “last mile” cables may include several copperpair wires bundled together extending out from a CO to severalhouseholds. Copper pair wires may exist between households, but areconnected between the household and the CO. By appropriately cutting acopper pair wire between a second house downstream in the cable from afirst house and the CO and routing the cut end to a second house, aconnection between two households is established using the existingcable. This process may be repeated to form complete ring networktopologies. There may exist intermediate, non-powered technician accesspoints in the larger cables.

In some implementations, a complete package of services with adocumented feature evolution is implemented for subscribers on the ring.The complete package may for example include combinations of featuressuch as Internet Home Theatre or Internet Protocol TeleVision (IPTV),Automatic Meter Reading (AMR), Home Security Monitoring, Virtual PrivateNetworking, Internet Security and Connection Maintenance (i.e., platformupdates performed without customer intervention), and Medical AidMonitoring, to name but a few.

The above description has focused on a ring topology for a localcommunication network. However, it is to be understood that a ringtopology is not required. More generally, any appropriate topologyinterconnecting communication nodes may be implemented to establish thelocal communication network to provide services to subscribers. Anexample of another topology that could be employed is a linear ADM or“Daisy Chain” topology. A linear ADM topology may be implemented wherebya set of communication nodes is connected together in series. A ringtopology is a topology in which two end communication nodes areinterconnected.

In some embodiments, at each node in the ring is a full ADM, based forexample on VDSL2. The DSL transmission distance starts at zero again oneach individual hop. In most cases these hops back to the gateway nodeand then to the neighbour's house are less than 300 meters (<1000 ft).VDSL2 bandwidth at this distance is in the >100 Mb/s range (depending onthe VDSL2 chipset manufacturer's specifications and the cable quality).

With rings there are two paths into and out of each house, each with thepotential capability of carrying >100 Mb/s. Therefore the bandwidthpotential for this scenario is potentially greater than 200 Mb/s (100Mb/s eastbound and 100 Mb/s westbound) depending on the number of bondedpairs and the actual distance from the DSLAM to the pedestal. Basicallythe greater the number of subscribers on the ring, the greater thebandwidth pool available due to the greater number N of pairs availablefor bonding in the bonded link 104 stream.

Rings also have the advantage of protecting themselves such that, if asingle pair on the ring is cut, the traffic can be sent in the oppositedirection to get to the gateway node. This is useful for maintenancepurposes as well as adding and removing nodes (houses) to/from the ring.This allows for a deployment business case based on customer demandwhich eliminates the sunken investment in a ‘build it and they willcome’ approach. This is also true of bonding so that houses can be addedto the ring as subscribers sign up for the service. In addition, in someembodiments, a gateway node may include cross-connect elements (CCEs),such as those described in International Application PCT/CA2014/050145filed on Feb. 28, 2014, the entire content of which is herebyincorporated by reference, that can connect and disconnect individualhouseholds from the ring.

In some embodiments, Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is accomplished. Insome embodiments this is achieved using the logical separation that iscurrently done via co-location in the CO (i.e., the traffic is carriedby the incumbent from the customer to the CO and then handed off). Inother embodiments, another gateway node is installed in a pedestal ordistribution point along with co-location in the CO. The pedestal couldbe a PCP/JWI/SAI (Primary Connection Point/Jumper WiringInterface/Service Access Interface). This allows for physical separationof the rings on a carrier-by-carrier basis. Space considerations in thepedestal may become an issue depending on the number of carriers thatneed to be supported in this fashion. A more pragmatic approach wouldhave competitive carriers paying for the CPE (customer premisesequipment) and jumper installation in the pedestal.

In another embodiment, a wireless interface can be used through whichthe reach of the wireline local communication network can be extended toreach other subscriber devices not connected directly by wirelineconnections. A second set of households can be connected in a similarmanner as described for the ring network of houses described in previousembodiments, with wireline connections between pairs of households in alinear manner that might form a ring or linear ADM for example. At leastone of the households of the second set has a wireless connection to oneof the households of the first set on the ring, to thereby connect thesecond set of households into the ring.

In some embodiments, a wireless interface is available for performingprotection switching in the local communication network in the event offailure of one or more wireline connections.

In some embodiments, a wireless connection can be used between theendpoints of two linear ADM topologies to complete a ring topology inthe local communication network.

In some embodiments, the ring transmission protocol is based on the IEEE802.17 RPR standard with some modifications to allow for differentpossible bandwidths between nodes and overall lower peak bandwidths. RPRwas designed for metro optical networks. Ethernet-based rings,implementing Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS) according toITU-T Recommendation G.8031/Y.1342, for instance, are also contemplated.

In some embodiments, packet add/drop functionality is included in eachnode to add/drop packets. More generally, traffic add/drop functionalityis included. This might include packet add/drop functionality, ortraffic implemented using timeslots or wavelengths/frequencies to name afew specific examples. QoS could also be accomplished using dedicatedpairs for different traffic priorities as an example.

This description contains many references to DSL communication. This mayfor example be ADSL (Asynchronous DSL), ADSL2+ (Asynchronous DSL Version2+), SDSL (Symmetric DSL), Uni-DSL (Universal DSL), VDSL (Very high bitrate DSL), and VDSL2 (Very high bit rate DSL version 2) or a futureiteration of DSL that may or may not include Dynamic Spectrum Management(DSM) functionality. However, other broadband communications protocolsmay alternatively be employed. For example, G.SHDSL and Vectoring areother possible technologies.

As noted above, embodiments of the present invention may be applied toDSL rings. It should be appreciated, however, that FIG. 2 and theforegoing description are intended solely as illustrative examples ofthe types of networks or topologies in conjunction with whichembodiments of the invention may be implemented. Thus, the presentinvention is not necessarily limited to any particular types of network,topology, equipment, or protocols, for instance.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of an example implementation of anetwork node, such as the gateway 115 of FIG. 2. Common referencenumbers are used where appropriate. The example network node shown inFIG. 3 includes a local communication network interface 170, a switchingmodule 160 operatively coupled to the local communication networkinterface 170, a bonding interface 150 operatively coupled to theswitching module 160, and a wireless communication module interface 162operatively coupled to the switching module 160. The wirelesscommunication module interface 162 is operatively coupled to a wirelesscommunication module 164, and the bonding interface 150 is operativelycoupled to a passive cross-connect 152.

The local communication network interface 170 provides an interface forthe network node to be operatively coupled to a local communicationnetwork, such as the ring network that includes houses 118, 120, 122 inFIG. 2. The local communication network interface 170 is coupled to awestbound phone line 40 and an eastbound phone line 42. References to“eastbound” and “westbound” do not of course necessarily imply east orwest, but simply the two directions that the ring can be connected to agiven network node. Each phone line has a pair of wires, typically butnot necessarily copper. The local communication network interface 170has a broadband modem 41 coupled to the westbound phone line 40 andanother broadband modem 43 coupled to the eastbound phone line 42. A DSLRing/RPR (Resilient Packet Ring) traffic processor 62 (a specificexample of an ADM) is coupled to both the broadband modem 41 and thebroadband modem 43. An add/drop port 151 of the traffic processor 62 iscoupled to the switching module 160.

In some embodiments, the broadband modems 41 and 42 are VDSL2 modems.

In operation, the bonding interface 150 enables communication over abonded link through the twisted pair punch panel 152. The wirelesscommunication module 164 is configured to establish one or more wirelesscommunication links for wireless communication with one or more wirelesscommunication devices. The switching module 160 receives communicationtraffic via the bonding interface 150, and determines whether thereceived communication traffic is to be forwarded to the localcommunication network interface 170 for transmission on the localcommunication network and/or to the wireless communication moduleinterface 162 for wireless transmission by the wireless communicationmodule 164. The switching module 160 then forwards the receivedcommunication traffic in accordance with its determination. Theswitching module is also configured to receive communication trafficfrom the wireless communication module 164 via the wirelesscommunication module interface 162, and forward the receivedcommunication traffic from the wireless communication module to thebonding interface 150 for transmission to the main network. Similarly,the switching module 160 is configured to receive communication trafficfrom the local communication network via the local communication networkinterface 170, and forward the received communication traffic from thelocal communication network to the bonding interface 150 fortransmission to the main network.

In some embodiments, the switching module 160 is further operable toprovide a translation function to translate the received communicationtraffic. In some cases, the translation function can include a functionto translate the received communication traffic between RPR (ResilientPacket Ring) and Ethernet or ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). Forexample, in some embodiments, the wireless communication traffic comingto the network node from the wireless communication module 164 will beEthernet-based, which may then be encapsulated in RPR to provide QoS andthen re-encapsulated in Ethernet to pass through a DSLAM.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the switchingmodule 160 shown in FIG. 3. The switching module 160 shown in FIG. 4includes a switch matrix 212 operatively coupled to the bondinginterface, to the wireless communication module interface, and to thelocal communication network interface. The switching module 160 alsoincludes a controller 216, operatively coupled to the switch matrix 212,and a set of one or more traffic queues 214 operatively coupled to thebonding interface, to the wireless communication module interface, tothe local communication network interface, and to the switch matrix 212.

In operation, the one or more traffic queues 214 store receivedcommunication traffic from the bonding interface, the wirelesscommunication module interface, or the local communication networkinterface, and the controller 216 controls the switch matrix 212 toswitch the stored received communication traffic between the bondinginterface, the wireless communication module interface, and the localcommunication network interface, in accordance with the determinationdescribed above.

In some embodiments, the set of one or more traffic queues 214 comprisesreceive queues for storing the received communication when received, andtransmit queues for storing the received communication traffic prior toforwarding. In some cases, the received communication traffic isforwarded from the set of one or more queues.

In some embodiments, the controller 216 is further operable to provideQoS forwarding for the received communication traffic, which mayinvolve, for example, forwarding received communication traffic to/fromthe wireless communication module interface 162 with a higher QoSpriority than received communication traffic to/from the localcommunication network interface 170.

In some embodiments, the network node may include a powering arrangement(not shown in FIG. 3) that enables the network node to be at leastpartially powered remotely by the main communication network through theplurality of electrically conductive twisted wire pairs at the bondinginterface.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example powering arrangement that mightbe included in a network node, such as the network node shown in FIG. 3,to provide remote powering from a main network.

The powering arrangement shown in FIG. 5 includes a bonding interface150 and a power supply interface 172 operatively coupled to the bondinginterface 172. For the purposes of this example, it is assumed that thebonding interface 150 is coupled to the main network through a pluralityof electrically conductive twisted wire pairs, over which the mainnetwork is able to provide electrical power to the bonding interface.The main network may provide electrical power in the form of a DC offseton some of the wire pairs that are also used for communication trafficand/or on wire pairs that are dedicated for power delivery. In someembodiments, the dedicated power pairs may also provide synchronizationinformation/reference(s).

The power supply interface 172 receives the electrical power provided bythe main network and utilizes it to at least partially power componentsat the network node. The power supply interface 172 may filter andconvert the electrical power provided by the main network intoelectrical power supplies for components of the network node itself,generally indicated as “Other Components” 174 in FIG. 5, and/orperipheral components or modules that may be coupled to the networknode, such as the wireless communication module 164 shown in FIGS. 2 and3. For example, the power supply interface 172 may utilize theelectrical power provided by the main network to provide an electricalpower supply to the wireless communication module 164 through aPower-over-Ethernet (PoE) connection via the wireless communicationmodule interface 162.

In some cases, the powering arrangement enables the node to be poweredfrom a local power source (not shown), or remotely from the main networkas a backup to the local power source.

In some embodiments, the power supply interface may also be operativelycoupled to the local communication network interface 170 to receiveelectrical power provided by one or more of the communication nodes inthe local communication network.

It is to be understood that other implementations of the network nodeare possible. In the illustrated example, specific example interfacesare shown. However, more generally, any suitable interface orcombination of suitable interfaces may be implemented. Also in theillustrated example, processing is accomplished using a specificimplementation of processors, controllers and memory. More generally,processing may be accomplished using any appropriate implementation ofsoftware, hardware, firmware, or any appropriate combination ofsoftware, hardware and firmware.

Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is a block diagram of another example HCC(Home Communications Centre) generally indicated at 76. It is to beunderstood that the HCC 76 shown in FIG. 6 is very specific for examplepurposes only. In general, equipment in conjunction with which an HCCmay be implemented may include fewer, further, or different components,interconnected in a similar or different manner than shown.

The HCC 76 is coupled to a westbound phone line 40 and an eastboundphone line 42. References to “eastbound” and “westbound” do not ofcourse necessarily imply east or west, but simply the two directionsthat the ring can be connected to a given HCC. Each phone line has apair of wires, typically but not necessarily copper. The HCC has a DSLRing/RPR (Resilient Packet Ring) traffic processor 62 (a specificexample of an ADM) coupled to the westbound phone line 40, for examplethrough VDSL2 modem 41 (more generally a broadband modem), and coupledto the eastbound phone line 42, for example through VDSL2 modem 43 (moregenerally a broadband modem). The HCC also has a main HCC processor 64and a main HCC memory 66 accessible by the main HCC processor 64. Themain HCC processor is also connected to the DSL Ring/RPR trafficprocessor 62. A power supply 60 is coupled to a power jack 61. Ahousehold phone jack 68 is connected to the westbound phone line 40. Insome embodiments, there is a relay/switch that connects to a VoIPcapability that is disabled when the power fails. A baseband modem 73 isconnected to the eastbound phone is also connected to the main HCCprocessor 64. Other possible interfaces include an Ethernet jack 70 aWiFi transceiver 72, a femtocell interface 75, and a USB jack 74. Theremay be other components, but they are not shown for sake of simplicity.The traffic processor 62 has add/drop ports 69 that connect the variousinterfaces to the traffic processor.

In operation, the combination of the DSL Ring/RPR traffic processor 62,the main HCC processor 64, and the main HCC memory 66 is adapted toprocess all communications over the westbound phone line 40 and/or theeastbound phone line 42. Processing communications includes packetadd/drop functionality. For example, if the DSL Ring/RPR trafficprocessor 62 receives a packet on the westbound phone line 40, it mayhandle the packet if it is addressed to the present HCC 76, or forwardthe packet to its destination via the eastbound phone line 42 if it isaddressed to another HCC. In some implementations, packets are routed ona per packet basis. The HCC 76 may also generate packets associated witha local communication device and forward the packets to theirdestination. In some embodiments, protection switching of traffic ishandled by an industry-standard protocol designed specifically for thistask. An example of this would be RPR (IEEE 802.17) technology. RPR wasdeveloped for the optical transport infrastructure, but might also beadapted to fit well into this application.

There are two twisted copper pairs: the westbound phone line 40, and theeastbound phone line 42 (i.e., in opposite directions). In someimplementations, communication over a phone line is bi-directional. Insome embodiments, the data rate is symmetrical (i.e., transmit bitrate=receive bit rate) for both eastbound and westbound directions. Insome embodiments, flow control mechanisms are used so that the data rateis the same around the ring and so that there are no links that arefaster than others. A given household may communicate with the CO by aneastbound path and/or a westbound path. Communications with householdsmay also be through a wireless mesh overlay via the WiFi and/orfemtocell interfaces 72, 75, to provide for wireless backhaul forinstance. In some implementations, if communication on a ring via onedirection is not possible, then communication via the other direction isattempted.

The household phone jack 68, the Ethernet jack 70, the WiFi transceiver72, and the femtocell interface 75 provide communication interfaces forthe household. The USB jack 74 may, in addition to providing a furthercommunication interface, enable memory expansion and maintenance accessfor the HCC 76 when it is installed. The HCC 76 may be installed in aresidence or business premises and remains with the residence/businesspremises permanently. This can be used to enable AMR (automatic meterreading) functionality, for instance. In some implementations, thearchitecture combines existing home phones with mobile phones. This mayfor example include most recent and/or backward compatible wirelessinterfaces. In some embodiments, the HCC 76 has one or more wirelessinterface(s), for example the WiFi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n) interface 72and femtocell interface 75 to enable communication with wirelessdevices, such as wireless appliances, stereos, PCs, TVs, meters, mobilephones, Set Top Boxes (STBs), etc.

In some implementations, QoS (Quality of Service) is provided so as toprovide certain communications with greater priority than othercommunications. A list of example communications with decreasingpriorities may be VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication,streaming video communication, Internet Gaming, Business Services andnon-streaming data communication. Having a greater priority providesstreaming communication with a greater likelihood of being uninterruptedand having less latency and/or jitter. In some implementations, a COS(class of service) is used as detailed in the RPR specification so as toprioritize traffic on the ring. This enables carriers to sell what arereferred to as SLAs (Service Level Agreements) to their customers basedon traffic volume at each priority level. For example, customer A mightget X GB/month of Priority 1 traffic and Y GB/month of Priority 2traffic, etc. while customer B may get totally different trafficprofiles.

In some embodiments, the HCC 76 is partially powered from the phonelines so there is no dependency on household current supply forlandline-based phone service. In some implementations, the householdphone jack 68 and the traffic processor 62 are powered by phone line 42while the remaining components may be powered by household current(i.e., would have to be ‘plugged in’). For example, phone line 42 couldsupply power via the potential difference between the first copper wire78 at −48V and the second copper wire 80 at 0V in a DC-basedarchitecture. Other examples of DC-based architectures that may be usedin some embodiments are driven at +/−190 VDC.

In some embodiments, the traffic processor 62 controls the traffic thatis on the ring via the RPR protocol and VDSL2 standards. For suchimplementations, it also controls the VDSL2 interface chips. It willalso control bandwidth asymmetry and any protection switching activity,for instance. The main processor 64 might for example implementfunctions such as the firewall/VPN, control of the WiFi interface,control communications with the network, access rule implementations(e.g. user authentication, WiFi interface logical segmentation betweenusers, SLA policing, etc.), possibly interface conversions as necessary(e.g.: USB), etc.

The number of HCCs that may be interconnected in a ring network isimplementation specific. An example design consideration is the maximumnumber of HCCs that can be partially powered solely from the phone lineso as to enable high impedance user devices to operate during a powerfailure. A low current consumption user device is a user device thatdoes not draw a significant amount of current and can be powered solelyby a phone line. A telephone that does not require a power connection isan example of a low current consumption user device. Under normalconditions, each HCC is plugged in so that it receives power from itshousehold power. However, during a power failure, the household powermay be absent. In some embodiments, the HCC has a local power supplythat receives power from the phone line so that during a power failurethe local power supply partially powers the HCC and powers a highimpedance user device so that the user may operate the high impedanceuser device. In such implementations, a user is provided with at leastbasic telephony functionality during a power failure.

The ring topology and the HCC may involve modification to the “lastmile”. The “last mile” has been seen as ‘untouchable’ for many reasons.First, it provides the customer with the perception that the bandwidththey have is not shared with other customers. This is true only untilthe traffic reaches the first access multiplexer in the network. Fromthat point onwards all bandwidth is shared. Second, the star topologyallows the telecom carrier to provide power to older ‘black’ telephones(e.g.: those that do not have power cords) so that phone calls can stillbe made during a power failure. In some implementations, the HCC takesthis into account and offers the capability to be powered from thetelecom carrier Central Office (CO). Another possible option would be toprovide support for baseband POTS and implement each ring in the form ofa DSL frequency overlay with DSL communication run in frequencies abovebaseband POTS, so that in the event of a power failure existing networkPOTS switches can be allowed to handle it. In such implementations, theCO would be providing power through the network node that is coupled tothe local communication network, such as the gateway 115 shown in FIG.2. In some implementations, examples of which are discussed above, theHCC 76 may instead provide electrical power to the network node in aback powering arrangement.

Having a star topology means that no one else can ‘listen’ to another'sphone calls, as there is no one else in the transmission path. In someimplementations, the HCC provides similar capability via encryption.Regarding the encryption of traffic, in some embodiments all traffic isencrypted around the ring so that no one will be able to ‘listen’ toanother's traffic. The encryption may be end-to-end in nature (e.g.:between a user's PC and a server somewhere on the Internet) or simplyaround the ring as far as the gateway node (which will remove theencryption prior to sending it to the DSLAM in the CO).

It is to be understood that other implementations of the HCC arepossible. In the HCC 76, specific example interfaces are shown. In oneparticular example, an HCC has an Internet firewall/VPN (Virtual PrivateNetwork), 2 or 3 phone jacks (RJ11), a USB port for memory expansion andmaintenance access, a WiFi interface, a femtocell interface and one ormore Ethernet cable jacks (RJ45). However, more generally, any suitableinterface or combination of suitable interfaces may be implemented. Alsoin the illustrated example, processing is accomplished using a specificimplementation of processors and memory. More generally, processing maybe accomplished using any appropriate implementation of software,hardware, firmware, or any appropriate combination of software, hardwareand firmware. The minimum functionality that needs to be included ineach communication node is a traffic add/drop function. In the aboveexample this is implemented in the traffic processor 62 but otherimplementations are possible.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another example deployment of a small cellin conjunction with a network node coupled to a local communicationnetwork in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Theexample deployment shown in FIG. 7 shows further details of main networkside equipment behind the DSLAM.

A convergence node 710 forming part of the local communication networkis depicted in FIG. 7. The convergence node 710 may alternatively bereferred to as a gateway node or more generally as a network node. Forthe purpose of example, an example deployment of such a convergence node710 (for example forming part of a pedestal or DP (Distribution Point))showing connections back to a main network 708 is depicted in FIG. 7,but it should be understood that convergence node 710 is not limited tosuch a deployment and any suitable backhaul connection may be employed.The convergence node 710 is shown connected via bonded wire pairs 707 toa DSLAM 706. In some embodiments, the DSLAM 706 may be located at the COor at a fiber-fed network node/cabinet of the network operator. A DSLAMis just one example of a type of access multiplexer that may be used insome embodiments of the present invention. More generally, embodimentsare not limited to DSL communication links, and therefore other types ofaccess multiplexers may be used in other embodiments.

The convergence node 710 is connected to the DSLAM 706 using a bondedconnection. The number of pairs between the DSLAM and the convergencenode 710 is implementation specific. It may, for example be on the orderof several hundreds and may be >1000. More generally, where in theillustrated example it is assumed that there is a bonded connectionbetween the convergence node 710 and the upstream network element, anysuitable shared connection can be used. The connection is shared in thesense that broadband packet traffic for multiple nodes can be carried onthe connection. The shared connection can include one or more of bondedcopper, optical or wireless to name a few examples.

A wireless communication module 712, which may be a small cell node, isdeployed so that it is operatively coupled to the convergence node 710.

While FIG. 7 shows only one convergence node 710, more generally anynumber of convergence nodes may be coupled to a DSLAM.

A bonding protocol is used to obtain bandwidth from the DSLAM 706 to theconvergence node 710. The convergence node 710, which may beenvironmentally hardened and powered via the twisted pairs from theDSLAM 706, terminates the bonded traffic and acts as a gateway for thelocal communication network and the wireless communication module 712.

On the main network side, the DSLAM is operatively coupled to a router704 that is also operatively coupled to an exchange gateway controller702 and to the main network 708. In some embodiments, a main networkinterface (not shown) may provide an interface between the main network708 and the router 704. Together the exchange gateway controller 702 andthe router 704 act as an exchange gateway (XGW) 700 for the main network708. The exchange gateway controller 702, the router 704 and the DSLAM706 may be implemented in hardware, firmware, one or more components,such as a processor, that execute software, or some combination thereof.For example, the exchange gateway controller 702 may be implemented assoftware executed on a server in a telco network.

For illustrative purposes and for the sake of brevity only oneconvergence node 710 and one DSLAM 706 are shown in FIG. 7. Moregenerally, an exchange gateway, such as the exchange gateway 700 shownin FIG. 7, can potentially support multiple convergence nodes throughmultiple DSLAMs.

In operation, the exchange gateway 700 receives communication trafficdestined for the convergence node from the main network 708. Forexample, the communication traffic destined for the convergence node 710may be for the wireless communication module 712 and/or the localcommunication network. The exchange gateway 700 also processes thereceived communication traffic destined for the network node 710 so thatthe processed received network traffic destined for the network node isforwarded by the DSLAM to the network node through the bonded link 707in a manner that is transparent to the DSLAM. In particular, in someembodiments, the exchange gateway controller 702 controls the router 704to add a header to each packet of data in the received communicationtraffic destined for the network node 710 so that the processed receivednetwork traffic destined for the network node is forwarded by the DSLAMto the network node through the bonded link 707.

Because the bonded link 707 is transparent to the DSLAM 706, the DSLAM706 can be implemented using a DSLAM that may not support bondingnatively. This can be particularly advantageous in that it may allowre-use of existing DSLAMs when deploying small cell nodes.

In some cases, the constituent pairs/links in the bonded link 707 maynot train up at the same training rate across the bonded link, meaningthat certain pairs/links may be faster than others. The G.Bond standardspecifies a maximum training rate difference of 4:1, meaning that thefastest line can be no more than 4× the speed of the slowest line. Thishas to do with the size of memory that is needed to re-assemble packetsat the other end of a bonded link. G.Bond & EFM (Ethernet in the FirstMile, which is very similar to G.Bond) both segment incoming packets.For example, if there are 4 lines in the bonded link, every packet isbroken up into 4 equal sized pieces (some implementations change therelative size of the pieces based on the relative training rates) andsend a different piece, possibly with padding, simultaneously down eachtwisted pair. When the pieces get to the other end, they are all ‘glued’back together and the original transmission sequence is maintained.Unfortunately, while this approach increases the bandwidth that isavailable by a factor which is slightly less than the number ofpairs/links used, it also has a number of distinct disadvantages:

-   -   It is not scaleable.    -   It is not resilient to line-outage.    -   To be practical, it also requires that the final bandwidth of        the pairs/links that are used be within a specific percent of        each other to make the amount of memory and processing at the        receiver feasible.    -   It implies that there has to be a significant amount of memory        at both ends (if the individual links are bi-directional) in        order to reassemble the packet fragments, and this memory        requirement generally increases geometrically with the number of        pairs/links (i.e.: this approach can get expensive very        quickly—meaning that the cost per pair/link gets higher and        often becomes uneconomical at higher pair/link counts).

In contrast, in some bonding protocols, such as the mBond™ bondingprotocol developed by Genesis Technical Systems Corp., full packets maybe sent down a link with no segmentation. This approach has severalpotential advantages that may mitigate at least some of the drawbacksdiscussed above that may be associated with bonding techniques thatinvolve packet segmentation. In particular, bonding protocols thatinvolve sending full packets down a link without segmentation may offerthe following potential advantages:

-   -   This approach is nearly infinitely scalable. There is no        theoretical upper limit to the number of individual DSL        pairs/links that can be used. There may be practical        limitations, however, such as the number of DSL pairs/links        available, cost, power consumption, and physical size, for        example.    -   If a bonded link uses n pairs, then the system can be configured        to readjust itself in the event of the loss of one or more        constituent pairs/links, albeit with a lower bandwidth, but with        potentially no further loss of traffic. Similarly, if the lost        pair/link is repaired, the system can be configured to        automatically readjust to include that pair/link once it becomes        available for use. In actual use it is possible to remove up to        (n−1) lines simultaneously and, although there may be loss of        traffic initially, the system can be configured to recover to        use just the remaining line while the other pairs/links remain        unavailable.    -   There is no limitation governing the bandwidth ratio of        individual pairs across the bonded link. As discussed in further        detail below, this approach allows various bonding topologies to        be employed for assigning packets to the constituent pairs/links        of the bonded link to mitigate against the effect of a poor        (e.g. slower training rate), but operational, constituent        pair/link.    -   Ingress packets are not split into smaller pieces in this        approach, meaning that the entire packet is maintained        throughout the process. This can potentially allow for a lower        memory requirement and, potentially, lower latency particularly        that introduced in the receiver.

One of the consequences of bonding protocols in which full packets aresent down a link without segmentation is that packets can get out oforder. That is, at the far end, packets may be received in a differentorder than in which they were transmitted. This may not necessarily beimportant as usually the higher layers of the application make allowancefor this by means of retransmission request and “jitter buffers”. Ingeneral the Internet is a Best Efforts service and there is no guaranteeof packet order maintenance across any link. However in some of thelegacy transmission modes (such as video over UDP) it can have adramatic negative impact.

To remedy this, a memory/buffer may be added at both ends of a bondedlink (potentially increasing the delay that the system adds to thetraffic that traverses it), and a number may be put on each packet as itarrives so that at the receiver packets that are received out ofsequence can be re-sequenced. This sequence number may be added as partof a custom header that is added to each packet.

The numbered packets may then be sent to the other end of the bondedlink, where they are stored in a memory and read out in their numericalorder.

However, this approach impacts the delay on ALL packets traversing thebonded link, and not all packet streams/types may be sensitive to OoSpackets. As such, it may be desirable in some cases to provideconfigurability, for example through software, to enable or disable thisfeature as some systems may not care about packet order due to the BestEfforts nature of the Internet. For example, in some implementationsthis feature may be enabled for packets that are sensitive to packetorder (e.g.: packets may be inspected to interpret the traffic typefield in each packet and, if it could be sensitive to packet order, itis put though the numbering process described above), while letting therest of the packets traverse the system in a more efficient fashionbased, for example, on the pair/link training rates. This may minimizesystem delay for the vast majority of packets, while adding delay to asmall subset of packets that are sensitive to packet order.

Re-sequencing packets at the receiver has the effect of adding furtherlatency. In applications where latency is critical, it may be desirableto provide an operator with the option to bypass re-sequencing, thusallowing the packets to be transmitted at the customer end in the orderthey arrived at the receiver rather than the order in which they wereoriginally sent.

In the mBond™ bonding protocol developed by Genesis Technical SystemsCorp., each ingress Ethernet packet is checked and passed into a framebuffer and back-end semaphores are updated. Packets are then taken fromthe frame buffer in sequence and passed to the next available modeminterface (corresponding to one of the constituent pairs/links of thebonded link) where a custom header is added and a new Frame CheckSum(FCS) is calculated before being passed to the corresponding modem ofthe DSLAM for transmission. Part of the custom header added to eachpacket by the transmit logic is a sequence number. With reference againto FIG. 7, the addition of sequence numbers by the Exchange Gateway 700prior to transmission to the convergence node 710 over the bonded link707 can allow the bonding interface at the convergence node 710 tore-sequence received packets so that they can be retransmitted to thecustomer application (e.g. an application on a customer communicationnode connected to the local communication network or an application awireless subscriber connected wirelessly through the wirelesscommunication module 712) in the same order in which they wereoriginally transmitted over the bonded link 707.

Even with the addition of a memory/buffer for packet re-sequencing, itis noted that in many cases the mBond™ protocol can be used with asmaller memory at the receiver than would be necessary for carrying outthe de-segmentation of packets associated with alternative bondingprotocols like G.Bond and EFM where packets are received in segmentsover multiple pairs/links and reconstructed.

In some cases, for traffic that may be particularly sensitive to OoSaffects, all the packets that are meant for a single destination thatare sensitive to packet order can be sent down a single pair/link in thebonded link. This means that there is no benefit to that traffic ofbeing part of a bonded link, but packet order is maintained for thattraffic.

In some cases, packets that are sensitive to delay can be sent downmultiple pairs/links in the bonded link, as long as transmission orderis maintained and the pairs/links they are sent down have similartraining rates.

In bonding protocols such as mBond™, where full packets are transmittedover constituent pairs/links of a bonded link, there are many otherpotential bonding “topologies” that may be used to determine over whichconstituent pair/link a given non-segmented packet is to be transmitted.Three examples of such bonding topologies are discussed below, includinga round-robin topology, a priority driven topology and a weightedtopology. It is to be understood that these are provided forillustrative purposes only, and embodiments of the invention are in noway limited to these particular examples.

Round-Robin

In the round-robin bonding topology the modems corresponding to theconstituent pairs/links are accessed in sequence in an order which canbe specified by the operator.

Upon receipt of a packet semaphore, a check is performed to check thatthe next modem in the sequence is ready to receive, and if so the packetis forwarded to the next modem in the sequence. As noted above, in themBond™ bonding protocol the packet will have been first modified toinclude a custom header and a new FCS will have been calculated.

The round-robin topology may be best suited for implementations wherethe final bandwidths of the constituent pairs/links are substantiallyequal.

Priority Driven

A priority driven topology may be slightly more complex than the RoundRobin topology in that the operator can define a constituent pair/linkorder based upon final bandwidth. For example, faster pairs/links can beassigned higher priorities and slower pairs/links can be assigned lowerpriorities.

In this topology, upon receiving a packet semaphore, a check may beperformed to check that the modem interface associated with thepair/link that has been defined as having the highest priority isavailable. If so, the packet will be forwarded there, otherwise afurther check may be performed to determine the availability of themodem interface defined as having the next highest priority and so on.

In some implementations, for every packet the foregoing check starts atthe modem interface associated with the pair/link having the highestpriority. If the pairs/links are assigned priorities based on theirfinal bandwidths/training rates, with faster pairs/links assignedrelatively higher priorities, then this approach has the potentialadvantage that the pair/link with the fastest final bandwidth may carrythe most traffic and those with the lowest final bandwidth the least.Also, this approach may be advantageous in that each pair/link may haveless idle time between packets, which means that this approach may makefor a more efficient use of available bandwidth.

However, priority driven topologies have the potential disadvantage inthat they are a relatively high-maintenance solution, meaning that thepotential advantages discussed above may not be realized without regularupdating of the assigned priorities to take into account potentialchanges to the final bandwidths/training rates of the constituentlinks/pairs. For example, if a pair/link fails, is repaired and retrainsat a different (usually lower) rate than previously, it would generallybe advisable to reassign the priority order for the system to take intoaccount the new training rate, because continuing to assign packets tothe repaired pair/link according to a priority level that was assignedbased on its previous training rate could potentially lead to less thanoptimum performance.

Weighted

A weighted topology may be slightly more complex than either theround-robin or the priority driven topologies in that the modeminterface to which a packet is assigned for transmission is determinedbased on the packet length as well as a priority that may be assigned byan operator.

In this topology, as with the priority driven topology, a priority maybe assigned based upon the trained rate of each modem interface, but inthis topology the priorities are assigned in groups. For example, theconstituent pairs/links may be grouped according to their trainingrates, with a first group made up of those constituent pairs/linkshaving training rates above a first threshold, a second group made up ofthose constituent pairs/links having training rates between the firstthreshold and a second lower threshold, and a third group made up ofthose constituent pairs/links having training rates less than the secondthreshold. It should be appreciated that the number of groups and thecriteria determining how constituent pairs/links are allocated to thosegroups is implementation specific. For example, in some implementationsthere may be more than three groups, while in other implementationsthere may be only two groups. Alternatively, rather than allocating theconstituent pairs/links according to thresholds, the constituentpairs/links may simply be equally divided into groups, with, forexample, the fastest ⅓ of the constituent pairs/links being allocated toa first group, the next fastest ⅓ of the constituent pairs/links beingallocated to a second group, and the remaining ⅓ being allocated to athird group.

The concept of this topology is that, when a packet becomes availablefor transmission, it is assigned to one of the groups based on thelength of the packet. For example, in implementations that include threegroups of constituent pairs/links grouped according to their trainingrates (e.g.: a fast group, a medium group, and a slow group), packetsmay be assigned to the groups such that packets with relatively longlengths are assigned to the fast group made up from the fastestpairs/links, packets with medium lengths are assigned to the mediumgroup, and short packets are assigned to the slow group.

In some implementations, once a packet is assigned to one of the groups,a further topology may be utilized within the group to determine theconstituent pair/link to which packet will be assigned within the group.For example, in some implementations, a round-robin or a priority driventopology may be used within a group.

The weighted topology has potential advantages in mitigating the amountof Out of Sequence (OoS) packets that could otherwise arise from packetsof different lengths being spanned across lines of different ratesaffecting a customer's Quality of Experience (QoE). For example, short64-byte packets can be sent down pairs/links in the slow group ofpairs/links and longer packets (up to 1536-bytes for example) can besent down pairs/links in the fastest group of pairs/links. This mayallow smaller memories to be used and may reduce the delay added throughthe system.

In addition to the data processing features of the exchange gatewaydiscussed above, in some embodiments the exchange gateway can also serveas the control/management of the system in one or more of the followingways:

-   -   Can serve as the upgrade download server for subtending        CNs/mBonds/HCCs (i.e.: when a software update is needed to any        of those components, the XGW can store the software upgrade and        download it to the individual boxes in the most efficient        manner—generally when there is lower traffic demand on the        system—and do it in the background), where an mBond is a node        that uses bonding technology to communication over a bonded link        in a manner similar to that of a CN, but without a local        communication network subtending from it (as in the case of a        CN).    -   Can act as an aggregation point for Network Management        System/Element Management System/Operational Support        System/Business Support System (NMS/EMS/OSS/BSS) alarms,        warnings, etc. from mBonds/CNs/HCCs    -   Can provision mBonds/CNs/HCCs according to parameters provided        by the Telcos    -   Can monitor conditions that are provisioned on the        mBonds/CNs/HGWs    -   Can provide inventory data on the subtending deployed        mBonds/CNs/HGWs (e.g.: equipment types, serial numbers, software        release levels, etc.) to the NMS/OSS/BSS

From that above it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, theXGW adds a data plane (packet data processing) in an EMS-type functionin the main communication network.

What has been described is merely illustrative of the application ofprinciples of embodiments of the invention. Other arrangements andmethods can be implemented by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a networkinterface to be operatively coupled to a communication network; anaccess multiplexer to be operatively coupled to a network node; and anexchange gateway module, operatively coupled to the network interfaceand to the access multiplexer, and operable to receive communicationtraffic from the communication network through the network interface,process the received communication traffic and forward the processedreceived communication traffic to the access multiplexer, wherein, forreceived communication traffic destined for the network node, theexchange gateway module is operable to process the receivedcommunication traffic destined for the network node so that theprocessed received communication traffic destined for the network nodeis forwarded by the access multiplexer to the network node through abonded link that is transparent to the access multiplexer, wherein thebonded link comprises a plurality of constituent links and the exchangegateway module is operable to forward the processed receivedcommunication traffic to the access multiplexer so that whole packets ofdata in the received communication traffic destined for the network nodeare routed to one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation, wherein routing of a given whole packet of data in thereceived communication traffic to one or more constituent links of thebonded link is based at least in part on constituent link training ratesacross the bonded link.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theexchange gateway module comprises: a router, operatively coupled to theaccess multiplexer, and to the network interface; and an exchangegateway controller, operatively coupled to the router, that, forreceived communication traffic destined for the network node, controlsthe router to add a header to each packet of data in the receivedcommunication traffic destined for the network node so that theprocessed received communication traffic destined for the network nodeis forwarded by the access multiplexer to the network node through thebonded link that is transparent to the access multiplexer.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the router is operable to receivecommunication traffic from the network node through the accessmultiplexer, and the exchange gateway controller is further operable tocontrol the router to strip off a header from packets of data in thereceived communication traffic from the network node and forward thestripped packets of data to the network interface.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the exchange gateway module is operable to route longerpackets down constituent links of the bonded link that train up atfaster speeds and route shorter packets of data down constituent linksof the bonded link that train up at slower speeds.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the exchange gateway module is operable to route wholepackets over one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation according to a priority driven bonding topology by:assigning constituent links of the bonded link priorities based on theirtraining rates, with constituent links having higher training ratesbeing assigned higher priorities and constituent links having lowertraining rates being assigned lower priorities; and routing wholepackets to one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation, wherein the routing of a given whole packet of data in thereceived communication traffic to one or more constituent links of thebonded link is based on the assigned priorities of the constituentlinks.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the exchange gateway moduleis operable to monitor the training rates of the constituent linksduring operation and update the assigned priorities for the constituentlinks based on the monitoring.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theexchange gateway module is operable to route whole packets over one ormore constituent links of the bonded link according to a weightedbonding topology in which constituent links are grouped according totheir training rates and each group is assigned a priority, with groupsof constituent links having higher training rates being assigned higherpriorities and groups of constituent links having lower training ratesbeing assigned lower priorities, wherein each packet is assigned to oneof the groups of constituent links based on its packet size and thepriorities assigned to the groups.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, whereinfor each whole packet assigned to a group of constituent links, theexchange gateway module is further operable to route the whole packetover one or more of the constituent links of the group withoutsegmentation according to a priority driven bonding topology within thegroup, wherein constituent links within each group are assigned relativepriorities based on their training rates, with constituent links havinghigher training rates being assigned higher priorities within the groupand constituent links having lower training rates being assigned lowerpriorities within the group.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theexchange gateway module is further operable to provide Quality ofService (QoS) forwarding for the received communication traffic, whereinthe exchange gateway module is operable to forward the processedreceived communication traffic to the access multiplexer so that wholepackets of data in the received communication traffic destined for thenetwork node are routed to one or more constituent links of the bondedlink without segmentation based at least in part on: i) QoS prioritiesassigned to communication traffic according to a QoS mechanism; and ii)the constituent link training rates across the bonded link.
 10. A methodcomprising: receiving communication traffic destined for a network nodefrom a communication network; processing the received communicationtraffic destined for the network node to add a header to each packet ofdata in the received communication traffic destined for the networknode; and forwarding each packet of data in the processed receivedcommunication traffic to the network node, through a bonded linkcomprising a plurality of constituent links, in accordance with itsadded header such that whole packets of data in the receivedcommunication traffic destined for the network node are routed to one ormore constituent links of the bonded link without segmentation, whereinthe routing of a given whole packet of data in the receivedcommunication traffic to one or more constituent links of the bondedlink is based at least in part on constituent link training rates acrossthe bonded link.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein forwarding eachpacket of data in the processed received communication traffic throughthe bonded link comprises forwarding each packet of data in theprocessed received communication traffic to an access multiplexer, whichforwards each packet of data to the network node through the bonded linkin accordance with its added header, the bonded link being transparentto the access multiplexer.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein routingeach packet of data to one or more constituent links of the bonded linkwithout segmentation based at least in part on constituent link trainingrates comprises routing longer packets down constituent links of thebonded link that train up at faster speeds and routing shorter packetsof data down constituent links of the bonded link that train up atslower speeds.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein routing each packetof data to one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation based at least in part on constituent link training ratescomprises routing each packet of data to one or more constituent linksof the bonded link according to a priority driven bonding topology by:assigning constituent links of the bonded link priorities based on theirtraining rates, with constituent links having higher training ratesbeing assigned higher priorities and constituent links having lowertraining rates being assigned lower priorities; and routing wholepackets to one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation, wherein the routing of a given whole packet of data in thereceived communication traffic to one or more constituent links of thebonded link is based on the assigned priorities of the constituentlinks.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising monitoring thetraining rates of the constituent links during operation and updatingthe assigned priorities for the constituent links based on themonitoring.
 15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: groupingconstituent links of the bonded link into groups according to theirtraining rates; and assigning each group a priority, with groups ofconstituent links having higher training rates being assigned higherpriorities and groups of constituent links having lower training ratesbeing assigned lower priorities, wherein routing whole packets over oneor more constituent links of the bonded link without segmentation basedat least in part on constituent link training rates comprises sendingwhole packets over one or more constituent links of the bonded linkwithout segmentation according to a weighted bonding topology byassigning each whole packet to one of the groups of constituent linksbased on its packet size and the priorities assigned to the groups. 16.The method of claim 15, further comprising: assigning the constituentlinks within each group priorities within the group based on theirtraining rates, with constituent links having higher training ratesbeing assigned higher priorities within the group and constituent linkshaving lower training rates being assigned lower priorities within thegroup; and after assigning a whole packet to one of the groups ofconstituent links, routing the whole packet without segmentation overone or more of the constituent links of the group according to apriority driven bonding topology within the group.
 17. A methodcomprising: receiving communication traffic through a first networkinterface; determining whether the received communication traffic is tobe forwarded over a bonded link comprising a plurality of constituentlinks; and after determining the received communication traffic is to beforwarded over the bonded link, forwarding the received communicationtraffic over the bonded link by routing whole packets of the receivedcommunication traffic over one or more constituent links of the bondedlink without segmentation, wherein the routing of a given whole packetof data in the received communication traffic to one or more constituentlinks of the bonded link is based at least in part on constituent linktraining rates across the bonded link.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising: receiving communication traffic from a secondnetwork interface; determining whether the communication trafficreceived from the second network interface is to be forwarded to one ormore of the first network interface and the bonded link; and forwardingthe communication traffic received from the second network interface inaccordance with the determination.
 19. The method of claim 17, whereinrouting whole packets over one or more constituent links of the bondedlink without segmentation based at least in part on constituent linktraining rates comprises routing longer packets down constituent linksof the bonded link that train up at faster speeds and routing shorterpackets of data down constituent links of the bonded link that train upat slower speeds.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein routing wholepackets over one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation based at least in part on constituent link training ratescomprises routing whole packets over one or more constituent links ofthe bonded link according to a priority driven bonding topology by:assigning constituent links of the bonded link priorities based on theirtraining rates, with constituent links having higher training ratesbeing assigned higher priorities and constituent links having lowertraining rates being assigned lower priorities; and routing wholepackets to one or more constituent links of the bonded link withoutsegmentation wherein the routing of a given whole packet of data in thereceived communication traffic to one or more constituent links of thebonded link is based on the assigned priorities of the constituentlinks.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising monitoring thetraining rates of the constituent links during operation and updatingthe assigned priorities for the constituent links based on themonitoring.
 22. The method of claim 17, further comprising: groupingconstituent links of the bonded link into groups according to theirtraining rates; and assigning each group a priority, with groups ofconstituent links having higher training rates being assigned higherpriorities and groups of constituent links having lower training ratesbeing assigned lower priorities, wherein routing whole packets over oneor more constituent links of the bonded link without segmentation basedat least in part on constituent link training rates comprises sendingwhole packets over one or more constituent links of the bonded linkwithout segmentation according to a weighted bonding topology byassigning each whole packet to one of the groups of constituent linksbased on its packet size and the priorities assigned to the groups. 23.The method of claim 22, further comprising: assigning the constituentlinks within each group priorities within the group based on theirtraining rates, with constituent links having higher training ratesbeing assigned higher priorities within the group and constituent linkshaving lower training rates being assigned lower priorities within thegroup; and after assigning a whole packet to one of the groups ofconstituent links, routing the whole packet without segmentation overone or more of the constituent links of the group according to apriority driven bonding topology within the group.